


Becoming Batwoman | Point Rock, Part I

by EQT_95



Series: Becoming Batwoman [1]
Category: Batwoman (Comic), Batwoman (TV 2019), DCU
Genre: Adventure, F/F, Prequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-05-22
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:47:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24233047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EQT_95/pseuds/EQT_95
Summary: Kate Kane's first term at Point Rock written as a series of short one-offs
Relationships: Kate Kane/Sophie Moore
Series: Becoming Batwoman [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1749118
Comments: 8
Kudos: 50





	1. First Day

“This seat taken?”

“Oh, no, it’s all yours,” Sophie smiled politely at the girl. She had expected her to take the chair to an adjacent table of cadets, but instead the chair on the opposite side of the table remained and the stranger joined her. Sophie was taken aback by the move, and felt a certain discomfort by it as she stared at this newcomer. She was clearly also a new cadet, but Sophie had planned on staying in the background for the morning, and this newbie was threatening to disrupt that.

“Think they’ll have breakfast?” the transient guest asked in a way of small talk, waving and smiling to acknowledge two peers walking past who wore a variation of Sophie’s nervous excitement on their faces. 

Sophie shrugged in a non-committal way and remained quiet. She hadn’t been able to settle the butterflies in her stomach all morning to consider eating anything, and now she found herself distracted by the curious female sitting across from her, wondering how she could seem so relaxed. More than that, she had apparently already acquainted herself with half the incoming class as she raised her hand again in a wave - this time to another group walking into the room. They responded to the gesture by making their way over to fill out the rest of Sophie’s empty table.

It was her first day of Military Academy, and the first item on the agenda was a welcome session that introduced key officers to the incoming class. After that they would be assigned rooms and given the rest of the day to unpack followed by an Academy-wide assembly where the commanding officer, a Lieutenant General, would officially start the semester off with a speech followed by a meet-and-greet mixer. At the moment they were all being packed into the mess hall as first-year students began arriving on campus. Anxious not to be late, Sophie had arrived the night before, stowing her limited belongings in the school’s gymnasium for the night while she and her parents stayed at a nearby hotel. It was an eight hour drive, which would have meant starting out in the middle of the night if they hadn’t. After promising to write often, they reluctantly said their goodbyes and parted ways: her parents back to a quaint two-bedroom home as empty nesters, and Sophie walking to the campus that would be her home for the next four years.

It took a minute for the commotion of the new group to get settled, but once they did, a new string of sounds erupted between them as they chatted like old friends catching up after a summer apart. She wondered if they knew each other prior to the Academy, or if they were just boisterously social. In either case, Sophie felt sidelined at the very crowded table.

“So who’s your friend,” a blonde-haired girl with a slightly nasal voice and an overabundance of enthusiasm asked the original table intruder.

“Oh, actually, sorry, I didn’t catch your name,” she responded, addressing Sophie. She squinted across the table, trying to read the name etched into the patch stitched above Sophie’s breast pocket as the rest of the table quieted and turned their eyes to Sophie expectantly. “Moore, is it?”

“Yea - I mean, it’s Sophie - Sophie Moore,” Sophie responded, feeling her cheeks blush slightly at the unwanted attention.

“And I’m James - James Bond,” remarked a sandy-haired, freckle-faced kid with a sarcastic smile. 

Sophie felt her cheeks burn redder. Her first day jitters were getting the better of her. She wasn’t much of a socialite, and meeting new people always made her crawl into a shell of solitude. It was one thing she knew would need correcting if she was ever going to make it out of the Military Academy, but at the moment, she wasn’t ready to take on that challenge.

“That’s Henry, and you can ignore him; the real James is sitting next to him. Pleasure to meet you, Sophie Moore. I’m Kate,” the stranger said before rattling off the names of everyone else at the table in introduction. Sophie focused to remember the names so she wouldn’t foolishly have to ask later, but by the fifth name she felt overwhelmed and lost track. As though sensing this, Kate interjected, “And don’t worry about remembering any of our names. I’ve asked everyone at least twice already.”

Sophie smiled in thanks when a bellowing voice came over the sound system, catching everyone off guard. Sophie quickly turned her attention to the main stage as did every other cadet in the room. She listened as the man on stage introduced himself as Brigadier General Smith. He spent the next ninety daunting minutes breaking down the week’s agenda, menial advice about the mess hall services, and school-wide policies before introducing his counterpart, Brigadier General Savoy. The hall’s attention was piqued when she took her time to explain the room assignment process that would take place over the next three hours. After nearly two hours of dry administrative monologuing, the cadets were eager to learn their dormitory assignments. 

Savoy advised that all cadets would be given their assignments in blocks, with surnames determining the order. The first batch, A-H, would assemble to check-in before receiving their keys and room assignments. After that, they were free to begin moving their things. This would last for an hour. After that, the second group, I-Q, would go, followed by the remaining letters. 

She finished by announcing that a late breakfast would be available for the next hour and a half before transitioning over to the lunch hour. Sophie heard Kate whisper ‘yes’ with unabashed enthusiasm. She nearly turned to scold her for talking but caught herself. Telling off a classmate on the first day wasn’t the way to make any friends. Instead, she sat silently and watched Savoy direct the first group to a series of tables lined along the back.

A wash of white noise overtook the hall as nearly a third of the cadets raced toward the tables.

“Looks like we’re group two, Sophie Moore,” Kate called at Sophie from across the table and over the noise. Sophie turned back to face the others at the table only to realize only she, Kate, and one other was left. 

“They all were in the first group?” Sophie asked, more out of statistical amazement than anything else.

Kate’s look of curiosity and amusement didn’t go missed by Sophie. “Well, it’s their loss. I’m grabbing a waffle before they’re gone.”

* * *

“Moore, Sophie, you are… Murray Hall, room: 419, roommate: K. Kane. You know how to get to the building?”

Sophie didn’t, but before she could say as much, she felt an arm wrap around her shoulder and Kate’s voice chime in, “I do. I’ll take her.”

The cadet who had been helping Sophie nodded in Kate’s direction, and Sophie wasn’t positive, but she was sure Kate winked back at him.

“Then you are all set. Here are your keys, and this form is for listing any existing damages in the room so you aren’t charged for them at the end of the year, ok? It needs to be returned by next week Thursday or it won’t be recorded.”

Sophie nodded, trying to absorb all of the information with mental notes. She regretted not having a notebook handy, but she also saw that no one else was taking notes and figured the last thing she wanted was to not look cool on the first day by nerdishly writing down every bit of information.

“Where’s your stuff, Sophie Moore? Trailer in the parking lot?” Kate asked, guiding her away from the mess hall.

“Uhm, no, it’s - I don’t have a trailer. My stuff-”

“Ah, yours is coming later like mine. My dad offered to make the trip with me, but I figured it’d be easier to just fly and have the stuff shipped. I’m working out of this suitcase for the first week until it gets here,” she said, pointing to the rollaway luggage trailing behind her. “When’s your stuff arriving?”

“Oh, no, I mean… my stuff  _ is _ here - it’s just in the gymnasium. I got in from the Gotham area last night, and my parents helped me unload it. They said I could borrow a cart to haul it to… wherever we’re going,” Sophie said, trying to gauge the direction they were walking with the gymnasium.

Kate skipped a step and paused, taking a moment to piece together Sophie’s words. She muttered to herself for a second, as though searching for something. Sophie was about to ask her if she was ok when Kate piped up, “Oh! You are  _ the _ Sophie Moore!”

Now was Sophie’s turn to stare back in confusion, “Pardon?” She couldn’t tell from Kate’s tone if it was said as an accusation or enthusiasm.

“You’re here on the General Nelson Fellowship, right?”

“Uh, yea, how did you… how did you kn-”

“Because you beat me out for it,” Kate said casually, beginning to walk toward a sea of generically designed dormitory buildings. “I heard some local named ‘Moore’ took top prize.”

Sophie shrank back at this, “Oh… I’m sorry.”

Kate laughed, “Oh, don’t be. It would’ve been nice to throw at my dad, but I don’t need it. Besides, that must make you a genius, so I’m lucky to have found you before anyone else could claim dibs.”

“But wait, what did you mean ‘local’?” Sophie asked.

“I’m from Gotham, too. Born and raised,” Kate said proudly.

“Oh, well, I’m not from Gotham. I grew up in a suburb of Gotham,” Sophie quickly clarified. She knew from experience that people who lived in Gotham-proper were quick to critique those who lived on the outskirts of the city-center, and she had grown accustomed to self-correcting.

“You kidding? Suburbs of Gotham deal with the same gritty shit as the rest of us,” Kate countered. “The corruption doesn’t end just because you live in a neighborhood with a standalone home and backyard,” Kate reasoned.

They spent the next few minutes going back and forth talking about the parts of Gotham they were from or knew with ease. Sophie felt a strange kinship with this Kate-person: it was clear they were the same age with completely different backgrounds and experiences, but what she said resonated with Sophie.

“Aaand, we’re here!” Kate announced. Sophie barely realized they’d walked across campus until Kate halted in front of a low-rise, all-brick structure with a monotonous pattern of punched windows. It looked exactly like five other buildings in the same vicinity, and Sophie wondered how Kate knew which was which.

“Oh, that was fast. Uh - th-thanks for walking me here,” Sophie said, not sure how to continue or end the conversation. Surely Kate would move on to her own dormitory, but maybe they’d meet up again later. “I guess I can take it from here. Worst case I just wander the hallways until I find my room number.”

Kate’s eyes were bright with amusement as she grinned back at Sophie. “Whatever you say, Sophie Moore.”

Sophie blushed slightly. She silently kicked herself for being so uncool. Kate was obviously the cool kid from school and that kind of person would never befriend someone like Sophie - bookish and quiet. Her entire life she had accepted that as her make-up, but she suddenly wished she could be as relaxed and confident as Kate. “Ok, well, see you around then,” she said with a small wave before walking to the entrance. She glanced back when she got to the door and saw Kate had already left. An unexpected wave of sadness cut through her. Her imagination quickly hyperbolized a scenario where Kate was running off to interview better candidates for ‘friend’ status.

She cast this thought aside and turned her attention to finding her new room. Fortunately Sophie was able to quickly deduce that the first number designated the floor level. She walked up to the fourth floor, negotiating around the hustle and bustle of other cadets moving in. Taking a slight detour, she located the fourth floor’s common space and observed a lounge space and small kitchenette just to the left of the staircase. On the opposite side was the bathrooms and shower stalls. Taking a right from the staircase, she identified doors near her room number. She ticked off the doors as she walked toward the end of the hall: 413… 415… 417… when she got to 419 she realized the door was ajar. 

She paused, both excited and anxious to meet her new roommate. This was one of her biggest worries about entering the Academy. As an only child, she had never roomed with anyone, and more than anything, she wanted to get along with whoever she was. Sophie had read too many horror stories of first-year roommates who were terrors, and the worry had kept her awake on more than one occasion and built out strategies for addressing different kinds of roommates. Key to most of those plans was a heavy use of the library or lounge space. She hesitantly pushed the door open all the way and paused in slight shock, taking in the familiar grinning face lounging on one of the twin beds. That surprise quickly melted into a full smile.

“You know, for being a genius you definitely overlooked some pretty obvious details,” Kate grinned pointing to her own shirt that had ‘Kane’ embroidered on it.


	2. Calculus I

Kate was crushing hard. And worse, it was on her roommate. While she didn’t believe in love at first sight, she definitely felt a pull toward her on their first day, and she’d been struggling every day since to appear unphased by her roommate’s jaw-dropping beauty, shy wit, and uncompromising will.

She had caught herself staring again in class, and quickly reminded herself that Sophie Moore was off limits: it was already difficult enough being out on a campus that had a zero tolerance policy for “homosexual conduct,” and adding a failed pass at a roommate you were stuck with for the next two semesters was the cherry to seal that fate. Kate mentally groaned as she watched a lock of hair fall out of Sophie’s bun and fell with a delicate bounce onto her shoulder.

It had already been three excruciating weeks on campus, and that assessment hadn’t included the rigorous course load and training. Two cadets had already been sidelined with injuries, and when they weren’t running drills, they were studying. For most of the students, this was exactly what they had signed up for. Unfortunately for a lesser handful, that wasn’t the case. One in particular was facing class-wide ridicule by the math professor at that very moment:

They had just finished reviewing precalculus material which was a required prerequisite to the Calculus I course, and a kid named Erwin Rice was having a time trying to recall his education from before the summer break. Kate learned quickly he was short-tempered with a reliance on acting like he didn’t care enough about anything to let it bother him. The professor was also wise to this, and, after it became clearer over the weeks that math was not a strong subject of Erwin's, the professor used the opportunity to make an example of him. It was a classic maneuver Kate had seen her own dad perform to keep a group of comrades in line, and Erwin’s combination of personality traits generally meant he’d sit stubbornly at his desk until Gilmet had finished having his fun. That didn’t make watching Erwin squirm uncomfortably under the critical gaze of Professor Gilmet any easier, though.

“As Erwin has once again proven, his very presence in my class is an insult to the intelligence of everyone here. Now Mr. Rice, perhaps you’ll have better luck at trigonometric functions,” Gilmet said, clicking ahead in his presentation. “Let’s look at this one, shall we?  _ The angle of elevation of an airplane is 23 degrees, and its altitude is 2500 meters. How far away is it?” _ he read off the slide.

Erwin’s already red face turned a shade darker as he sat silently, cross-armed in his chair. 

“As expected,” Gilmet said, turning his attention away from Erwin. Gilmet took the opportunity to glance at the clock before continuing, “No one will leave this room until our friend Mr. Rice can give us the answer we need.”

The class groaned loudly. It was Friday, and this was the last course of the day - everyone was eager to get their weekends started, and Kate was no exception. She watched Erwin gape at the unfairness of Gilmet’s ultimatum and glanced uncomfortably at the students shooting him glares. At that moment the bell rang marking the end of the period.

“No one is to move until Mr. Rice can provide us the correct answer. To the nearest tenth, please,” Gilmet said, settling into the chair at the front of the class. A grin was plastered on his old, wrinkly face as the frustration in the room grew.

“Come on Rice, just answer the damn question,” Mark Miller whined from the back row. He was far worse at math than Erwin, but that didn’t stop Mark from taunting him for not being up to snuff. A few voices rose in support of this, causing Erwin to sit more stubbornly in his chair, his own temper and pride getting in the way of risking being wrong.

Kate leaned back in her chair, observing the room. For what it was worth, she had already solved the problem and was equally ready to get her Friday evening started. She glanced over at Sophie who also happened to be looking back at Kate - she offered a half smile and a shrug at the situation.

Minutes quickly turned into fifteen, and the class’s aggression only grew. Finally Kate had had enough. She leaned forward, and with the most authoritative voice she could muster, she addressed her stubborn peer, “Erwin, get out your calculator.”

It wasn’t a request, and for the first time all class, Erwin reacted. He turned his head to Kate in surprise.

“You have a calculator, right?” Kate continued.

He nodded sheepishly before reaching into his bag for the mini computer.

At this, Kate’s tone changed. Now that she had his undivided attention, she could drop the act. 

“So we’re looking at trigonometric functions for this - remember there are six in total?” she asked, pausing to see if Erwin nodded in understanding. When he did, she continued, “All six have relationships to a triangle, and three of those are reciprocals of the others. Each function uses a part of the triangle to solve another part. So, if we look at this problem, we need to find the hypotenuse, and to do that, we use which of the functions?” Kate asked patiently. She watched his brow furrow in thought and ignored the peering gaze of Professor Gilmet from his chair.

“Cosine?” Erwin asked, shrinking defensively at the groans from a few members of the class. Kate’s sharp glare quickly muted that reaction, and she returned her gaze to Erwin who had shifted to a shade of red again.

“Close, but let’s think about it. The information you have is an angle and the length of the opposite side, right?”

“The opposite… yea, I think so,” he said, straining to recall.

“Did you ever learn SOH-CAH-TOA?” Kate continued, taking a different approach. She kept her focus on Erwin as though they were the only two in the room.

“Oh! Yes… yes, I know that,” he exclaimed. “The… the function is the first letter. ‘SOH’ stands for sine and opposite and hypotenuse. That… that’s what I need, right?” he stuttered, starting to piece it together.

“That’s exactly right.”

“And O is over H, so I’m getting opposite over hypotenuse?”

“You got it. The equation assumes the sine of theta equals opposite over hypotenuse. We know theta is 23 degrees and the opposite is 2500 meters,” Kate said slowly, allowing Erwin to write it out. “So if you do a little adjusting, you can get the answer for the hypotenuse.”

Kate’s gaze didn’t leave Erwin as he wrote through the equation before turning to his calculator. After another minute, he slowly read off his calculator, “6,398?”

“Rounded to the nearest tenth?” Kate gently reminded him.

“Uh, right - 6,398.3?”

“Is that a question or an answer,” Professor Gilmet cut in. Kate only just realized he had gotten up from his chair and had been slowly walking toward Erwin.

“An answer, sir,” Erwin gulped nervously.

Gilmet stared at Erwin for a moment before turning, “You may go.”

There was a round of cheering from the class as everyone quickly jumped up from their seats and began scurrying to the door.

“Ms. Kane, a word,” Gilmet cut through the noise. Those who heard glanced apologetically to Kate as they left. Erwin shot her a look of sincere thanks as he shoved his things into his bag, eager to get out of the room.

Once the room had emptied, Gilmet walked to the edge of his desk and leaned against it, seeming to take a moment before speaking.

“That was an unexpected twist, Ms. Kane,” Gilmet began. “Normally someone will break and just shout out the answer, and I get the privilege of assigning double homework for the weekend.”

“I’m sorry for ruining your fun?” Kate offered.

“Tell me, Ms. Kane, what compelled you to do that?” he continued, ignoring Kate’s remark.

“Well, I’m not good at literature,” Kate answered simply.

“Pardon?” Gilmet responded, his brow tucked in confusion.

Kate sighed at having to elaborate before continuing, “I’m bad at literature but good at math. Erwin is bad at math but probably good at something else. If we’re going to survive as a team, we need to lean on each other's strengths. If Erwin is good at literature, I’m going to need him when the time comes in the same way, when he’s bad at math, he can lean on me. This is a military academy, right? We’re training to work as a team meaning we shouldn’t be making someone wrong for their weaknesses because somewhere they’ve got a strength that makes the whole stronger.”

Gilmet broke into a grin at this. “Interesting rationale, Ms. Kane. You’ll make a fine leader someday. It’s not often a cadet has the foresight to approach the academy as an exercise in team development this early on, but when they do, it tends to lift all ships.”

“Yes, sir.”

“You may go. I hear Wilfred Hall is having an unsanctioned gathering tonight - not to be missed,” he said, smiling almost as though recalling a time when his younger self attended such a gathering.

Kate grinned back at Gilmet before gathering her things and leaving. As she turned into the hall, her eyes fell on a shadow leaning against the wall, and Kate immediately identified it as Sophie. She jumped at the sight of Kate, grabbing her bag and walking up to her.

“That - that was amazing, Kate,” she said, her awe written all over her face, “Like… just… wow. That took guts.”

Kate couldn’t help but smile back at Sophie. Gilmet’s words were encouraging, but they had nothing on the wave of accomplishment she felt at having impressed Sophie. She felt her cheeks burn at Sophie’s praise. One of Kate’s new hobbies was making Sophie smile, and she considered this outing a particular success.

“You didn’t have to wait on me,” Kate said, trying to feign a natural tone but was secretly over the moon at a chance to walk alone with Sophie back to the dorms.

“Are you kidding? It was the least I could do.” Sophie said, bumping lightly into Kate as they started walking. “You saved the day - he didn’t even assign homework over the weekend! So, what did Professor Gilmet want?” 

“Oh, nothing. Just threatened to expel me if I ever spoke out of turn again,” Kate said nonchalantly. She turned back to see Sophie had paused mid-stride, her face now a look of horror. Kate broke out laughing, “Sophie Moore, we need to work on your humor radar.”


	3. The Incredibles

“Hey, you want to watch a movie tonight?” Sophie asked suddenly, interrupting their study session.

Kate looked up in surprise. “But we haven't finished Gilmet's assignment… and we still have an essay on ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ and the subtle symbolism employed by Hemingway’s use of Kemmerich’s boots...” she said with heavy sarcasm before trailing off as the mundane reality her evening homework became clear.

“Yea, I know… but, what if we just took the night off? I mean, it’s not like everyone else doesn’t do it  _ all  _ the time,” Sophie reasoned. "And neither of those things is due tomorrow, anyway."

Kate’s surprise turned into skepticism. In the two months she had been around Sophie, she never knew her to want a night off - that included weekends. Sophie was the epitome of the golden student - sometimes Kate wondered if she was the inspiration for Hermione Granger. Kate was usually the one trying to convince her that it was okay to take a Friday night off, but it was Wednesday, and there was a mountain of work to do. They had drills the next morning, to boot, but Kate sensed there was more to this than Sophie was willing to share.

“All right. Movie night it is,” Kate surrendered, eyeing Sophie closely for her reaction.

A strange relief appeared in Sophie’s smile that Kate couldn’t place. “Thanks, Kate.”

“So what's it gonna be? A classic? A horror slasher? A chick flick?”

Sophie pondered for a moment, “Oh, I don’t know - you choose.”

Kate scowled at this. “Ok, what’s going on?”

Sophie looked back at Kate in surprise, “What? Nothing’s going on.”

“So you’re saying you were suddenly struck with the desire to abandon all responsibility in the middle of the week for a movie you hadn’t picked? I may not know everything about you, but I think I know you well enough to tell when something’s bothering you.”

Sophie set down her pen. Kate noted her shoulders were slumped defeatedly, and she wore a strange look of frustration and sadness. She stared at her notebook for a moment while Kate waited for her to speak.

“My dad got laid off of work,” Sophie began, “and I’m worried about my gpa.”

Kate almost laughed but restrained herself. The sadness for her dad, she got, but the other bit felt entirely out of context. “I don’t understand. What do those two have in common?”

“If I don’t keep a 4.0, I lose my fellowship,” she replied, averting her gaze to hide the tears threatening to fall.

It dawned on Kate that Sophie’s studious nature, while part of her personality, was also strained by her fear of losing her scholarship. For a military academy, it was lax about many things, but one thing it held to the highest standard was the class of scholars, and that meant they were expected to perform above and beyond. That, paired with Sophie’s financial situation, clarified for Kate for the first time why she took school so much more seriously than their classmates: without the scholarship, she couldn’t afford to be here. It was a privilege Kate overlooked coming from a wealthy family.

"Sophie Moore, you are the most dedicated, hardworking, intelligent person I've ever met. AND, one night off to relax will not in any way inhibit your trajectory to succeed. We can put in some extra work tomorrow to make up for it," Kate said, beginning to understand Sophie's motives. If it had been up to Kate, they wouldn't have been studying in the first place - it wasn't really her thing. Her real motive was to be around Sophie, and if that meant suffering through hours of chemical compounds, she was happy to take it on.

Sophie quickly wiped away a tear, keeping her gaze fixed to the textbook in front of her. Kate had also become wise to Sophie’s reluctance in talking about finances, and it didn’t help that Kate had never lived a day of her life in want. This all made her worried any attempt to console Sophie would be seen as belittling of her worries. Instead, she took the pause to change course.

"All right, I’ll narrow the selection down to two options, but you have to make the final selection:  _ The Incredibles _ or  _ The Mask of Zorro _ ."

Sophie laughed in surprise, "You know, for someone who has it out for Batman, you sure do like your masked heros," Sophie commented, smirking at Kate’s contrarian opinion. The reemergence of it was a relief to Kate.

"That actually hadn't even crossed my mind. Elastigirl is just super badass and Zorro is Catherine Zeta-Jones' hottest performance."

"Are you kidding? It's  _ Entrapment _ , hands down," Sophie quipped back before her eyes widened in surprise. Kate's eyebrows raised in equal shock, and she didn't try hiding the grin now plastered on her face as Sophie melted into a fit of discomfort. 

It had taken less than a week for Kate to out herself to Sophie, and after months as roommates, it wasn't uncommon for Kate to casually comment about women to Sophie. For her part, Sophie always remained tight-lipped in response, simply nodding at Kate's remarks. It was this silence that sparked Kate's curiosity; most people she knew would play along. She'd never met a straight woman who didn't have some opinion about the attraction of other women, but Sophie never played, and that always struck Kate as odd.

“I mean, we can watch  _ Entrapment _ …” Kate offered with a grin. “I didn’t realize you had such strong opinions about Miss Catherine’s performances. Although it would be remiss of me not to put  _ Chicago _ in the running.”

“ _ The Incredibles _ is fine,” Sophie replied, unwilling to make eye contact with Kate.

“If you say so,” Kate smirked back.


	4. Midterms

“Ok, ready?”

“Bring it on, Kane,” Sophie responded, her concentration at an all time high. Kate was learning that Sophie had two modes of studying: 'normal’ Sophie studied approximately four hours each night while 'midterm exams’ Sophie never stopped studying.  _ This _ was ‘midterm exams’ Sophie.

“During (blank) only energy is released. Is it alpha decay, beta dec-”

“Gamma decay.!”

“Correct!”

“Next question:  Carbon-14 emits an electron and it becomes Nitrogen-14. Which of the following is this an example of? Positron emission, alpha decay, gamma decay, or beta decay?”

Sophie wrinkled her nose in concentration, “Beta decay?”

“That’s a guess, but it’s a correct guess, so I’ll take it. Next question: wh-”

“Hey, you guys studying?”

Kate’s attention was broken as she looked up at the now open doorway of the dorm room to see a silhouette filling out the frame.

“Yes, Melvin,” Kate answered unenthusiastically. “At least we were until you barged in.”

She ignored Sophie’s scowl of disapproval.

“Classic Kate Kane - always razzing me,” he laughed dismissively, stepping into the room and leaning against Sophie’s dresser. Kate rolled her eyes as he directed his attention to Sophie - making his intentions clear.

“So, got room for another study buddy?” he asked Sophie who smiled back at him. Kate noted it wasn’t a full, genuine Sophie Moore smile, but it also wasn’t completely forced either, and that only made Kate more jealous.

Melvin had been scouting Sophie out since the beginning of term, and Kate didn’t like that he came around to compete for Sophie’s attention. It just so happened that most of the class knew Kate was out with little fanfare, including Melvin. He was a jock-turned army brat, and, while he was generally nice, had undeniable charm, and was born with the symmetric proportions of a Greek god, Kate couldn’t shake a lingering suspicion that Melvin knew she was crushing on Sophie and intentionally made a show in front of Kate to flirt with her.

“Yes, but, oh shoot - you aren’t even taking chemistry this semester, are you?” Kate pointed out, feigning disappointment.

“Oh, well, maybe we could switch over to math or literature?” Sophie offered. 

Kate cursed Sophie’s inherent goodness.  _ Why couldn’t she be a selfish prick? _ Kate wondered to herself. She knew the fault in her thinking was that it probably wouldn’t have made her interested in Sophie in the first place, but it didn’t stop her from wanting it in the moment. “But Sophie, you just said not even twenty minutes ago that you were most worried about chemistry,” she tried reasoning.

“We can come back to it - it’s still early in the night,” Sophie countered, giving Kate a ‘why are you being so rude’ look.

Melvin took the opportunity and chimed in, “Literature would be great! How ‘bout it Kate?”

Kate realized there was no getting around it. “Yea… literature sounds great,” she said, defeated.

Melvin settled himself in and, in a display of zero subtlety, set next to Sophie on her bed, eliminating nearly all personal space between them.

“There’s a couch right there, Melvin,” Kate pointed out, slowly simmering in annoyance.

“I’m good,” he winked back.


	5. Scotch 101

“Oooh, that’s a fancy looking bottle,” Sophie remarked as Kate pulled it out of her bottom desk drawer. They had just finished midterms and, instead of going to and getting plastered in celebration, Kate had decided to stay in for the night. That also meant Sophie was going to get her first lesson in hard liquor.

“I’m spoiled, remember?” Kate joked, grabbing two glasses and sitting on the couch next to Sophie. She uncorked the lid and poured two glasses: a full pour for her and a smaller pour for Sophie.

“Laga… Lagavlavlin,” Sophie sounded out, her head cocked to the side trying to read the word as Kate poured.

“Lagavulin,” Kate corrected her. “It’s scotch, from one of the islands off Scotland’s west coast.”

Sophie scowled, “You people and your fancy things.”

Kate laughed, “You people?”

“How do you even find something like this? A scotch off some remote island? Did you send your army of servants to hunt it down for you?”

Kate laughed again at Sophie’s appraisal. “Of course not - we use our servants for other more important things like bed-making and school diorama projects. It’s actually a pretty popular island for whisky-making. There are a bunch of distilleries there.”

“Sure,” Sophie replied, feigning disinterest. 

“I grew up watching my grandma drink this, actually. When I was… fifteen maybe? she poured me a dram expecting me to hate it. Turns out I loved it. This was her gift to me for getting into the Academy, and now I bestow the blessing of the caramel liquid onto you, Sophie Moore.”

“Well, cheers to that,” Sophie said, taking her glass and lifting it. They clinked and Sophie brought the bronze liquid to her lips and let it slide onto her tongue. She immediately regretted it as a strange smoky flavor erupted on her palette. Her face must have contorted in disgust because Kate broke out into even more laughter.

“It’s not for everyone,” she remarked.

“It should be for no one,” Sophie corrected. She watched Kate take a sip with ease and felt a challenge to want to like it. She brought the glass to her nose and inhaled. “It smells like a campfire.”

“Mhmm, that’s the peat. A second sip won’t taste as harsh if you want to give it another go,” Kate offered, seeming to read Sophie’s thoughts.

She let another sip in and set the liquid on her tongue, taking in the different flavors. A slight burn followed as she swallowed. She thought about it for a moment as though negotiating with herself whether she could learn to like it.

“You don’t have to like it,” Kate interjected.

“It’s… it’s weird? I mean, I don’t not like it, I just-”

“Sophie, the exams are over - you don’t need to over-analyze this,” Kate interrupted with a slight grin.

“Oh, fine,” Sophie replied. She set the glass down and examined the bottle more closely. It was strange to get glimpses of Kate’s lifestyle because it was so different from her experiences. She wondered how much growing up with money influenced how confident she was, but then she also recalled a number of classmates who had grown up with similar wealth and were nothing like Kate.

“Your intense thinking face is making me uncomfortable,” Kate said, interrupting Sophie’s thoughts. “What part of ‘midterms are over’ is not getting through that skull of yours?”

“Real talk for a minute?” Sophie asked, surprising even herself by her question.

“Sure?” Kate responded, seemingly just as surprised as Sophie by her question. This question had become a way for them to have a completely open conversation. So far it had only been used three times: the first was when Kate told Sophie about her mom and Beth’s deaths, the second was when Sophie shared about her mom’s run in with cancer, and the third was in the middle of  _ The Incredibles _ when Sophie told Kate about her family’s history of financial problems.

“When did you realize you were gay?”

“Huh, that is not where I thought this was headed,” Kate said, reaching for the bottle from Sophie to refill her own glass. She took a moment to splash into her glass and take a sip before speaking. “I didn’t have like, an epitome one morning and then suddenly I was gay. It was always just this lingering feeling of being different. I probably benefited from having Beth as a twin sister to help me figure it out so quickly: she oohed and aahed over the latest boy bands, and I had no interest. Instead I wanted to watch things like… like-”

“Like  _ The Mask of Zorro _ ?” Sophie offered.

Kate laughed, “Well, yea, exactly. Plus I had the privilege of growing up in a more progressive world than most - we went to things like Pride Fest every year which I’d guess wasn’t something every kid would grow up doing. But basically it made coming out a normal thing - I didn’t need to work up the courage to say it. My cousin, Bruce, had an out friend. She would sometimes be around the office when I visited Bruce, and I remember talking about it once or twice with her.”

Sophie listened to Kate, and she began to understand why she seemed so confident about her sexuality: it wasn’t that she was doing or being anything exceptional - she was just being normal about it. 

“So to answer your question: it was a slow evolution. The more time I sat with it, the more comfortable I felt in my own skin. I don’t think I ever announced it in the way some people have to. I mean, I definitely remember telling some people like my grandma and dad. Beth and my mom had passed by that point though, and then when my dad remarried it was just a fact that Mary and Catherine were handed one day. But I’d say my fate was definitely sealed when I kissed Krissy Kreiger in ninth grade.”

Sophie tried to imagine a thirteen year-old Kate Kane kissing a girl for the first time, and she couldn’t imagine she’d be anything but perfect at it. She just seemed like someone who wouldn’t let nerves keep her from doing something she wanted.


	6. Intro to Hypothermia

The sound of the door opening made Kate smile from her desk. They had all been assigned the obstacle course for the afternoon, and Kate had breezed through in the first group. Sophie had been stuck in the last group, and by the time they went, it was already getting dark, making the course trickier to run. That didn’t stop from Kate taking a swipe at Sophie’s overly belated return. She glanced at the clock, seeing it was nearly an hour past when Kate had expected her back.

“If you want me to stop bragging about my record time, you’re going to have to start running the course fast… Sophie? What  _ happened _ to you?” Kate asked, having turned from her desk to see Sophie standing in the doorway, soaked and shivering to the bone.

“Miller… slipped and dislodged a… a…thing. C-crashed down...”

“Hold up, you’re shaking like crazy,” Kate interrupted, dropping her grin and crossing the room to Sophie. She placed a hand on Sophie’s cheek and felt the sharp sting of cold against it. “Shit, Sophie, you’re freezing. You need to get out of these clothes and warmed up.”

Sophie nodded, but Kate could tell she was only half-listening. She watched Sophie reach up to unzip her jacket, her numb fingers fumbling against the zipper. After a moment of struggling with it Kate finally lifted her own hands and quickly unzipped it for her.

“It landed on the tube a-and - pin-pinned me insi-”

“Forget what happened - how are you feeling? Are you hurt?,” Kate asked while simultaneously helping Sophie out of her jacket. She felt the weight and cold of it and saw the rest of Sophie’s clothes beneath were just as soaked. Kate tossed it in the corner and put her hands on Sophie’s shoulders, centering her. She looked directly into Sophie’s eyes and repeated her question, “Sophie, I need me to tell you how you’re feeling. Are you dizzy? Confused?”

“Your eyes are so green,” Sophie responded, her face marked with slight surprise. Kate tried to keep her gaze steady as a sense of genuine worry filled her.

“I think you might be suffering from hypothermia, Sophie,” she said. Kate had experienced a mild case of hypothermia as a kid, and Sophie looked like a worse version of that. She tried recalling how to get someone warmed up: she knew a shower was an option, but she also knew it could result in rewarming shock which was just as dangerous. “Do you think you can take a shower? That’s the fastest way to warm up.”

Sophie nodded slowly, swaying slightly as she closed her arms around herself in an attempt to warm up. Kate wasn’t completely convinced.

“Ok, how about this: I’ll wait outside the shower, and if you start feeling dizzy, you tell me, ok?”

“What if I’m already dizzy?” Sophie asked between clamoring teeth.

Kate faltered. She couldn’t have Sophie shower if there wasn’t a reliable way to ensure she didn’t fall into a shock. She glanced around, trying to think of another solution while cursing the drill instructors for leaving Sophie to fend for herself.

“Change out of the rest of your clothes. I’ll be right back,” Kate said, moving toward the door. She remembered Chelsea down the hall had an electric blanket and figured that would be better than nothing.

A few minutes later, she returned with it in tow and found Sophie curled up on the couch wrapped in a thin blanket, shivering uncontrollably. 

"You're practically freezing to death and you choose that rag to warm you up?" Kate remarked sarcastically. She was trying to stay calm, but seeing Sophie in such a vulnerable state had her frantic. 

She grabbed her comforter off her bed and placed it over Sophie before searching for a spare extension cord. Once found, she plugged in the electric blanket, and set it to the lowest level. She considered setting to the highest level but knew the best way to raise Sophie’s body temperature was slowly. She tucked the blanket around Sophie before grabbing the comforter off Sophie's bed for an added layer. 

“Thanks, Kate,” Sophie muttered, giving a weak smile of appreciation.

Kate sat down at her desk chair and watched Sophie for a moment. She felt her heart racing against her chest as she rattled off all the ways she could think to bring Sophie’s body temperature up: shower… blankets… warm beverages. She glanced up and saw the box of Swiss Miss sitting on the shelf. She reached up and grabbed a packet and pulled a mug off the shelf next to it. She lifted them to Sophie as way of communicating her plans and left the room.

When she returned again, the mug was steaming with sugary warmth. 

“How’s it going?” Kate asked, sitting down next to Sophie and setting the mug on their makeshift coffee table.

“F-fine,” Sophie responded, shaking beneath the blankets. “Can you t-turn on the - the blanket?”

Kate’s eyes narrowed. She checked the remote and saw it was lit and felt the blanket to double check: it wasn’t warming. Kate clicked it up to a higher setting and left her hand on the blanket, waiting for signs it was heating up. After a minute of feeling no change, she sighed in frustration. 

“M-my dad had hyp-hyp-hypothermia once,” Sophie said. “His snow p-plow broke down one winter...”

Kate was only half listening as she tried thinking of whether another electric blanket might be hidden somewhere in the building. Chelsea had talked about hers one Fall day after someone else had talked about theirs… Kate mentally cursed unable to recall who had said it.

… and she u-used her body heat.”

“What?” Kate said, catching the last bit in surprise. 

"My mom u-used her bod-dy heat."

_ Of course, _ she thought, wanting to beat herself on the head,  _ body heat _ . Before giving it a second thought, she slid under the blankets next to Sophie before pausing. 

“Is this ok?” she asked, torn between her instincts of warming Sophie up and not wanting to make her uncomfortable. 

“Unless y-you’re pl-planning on killing me… I’d s-say you’re fine,” Sophie said with an unexpected amount of sarcasm and a bemused look on her face.

Kate adjusted herself to have Sophie's back against her chest. She wrapped her arms around Sophie's shaking body, hugging her close in hope of passing on as much heat as possible. It was a slightly awkward arrangement with Kate trying to refrain from making it appear too intimate out of fear Sophie might get the wrong impression. It was a ridiculous fear given the circumstances, but after weeks of overthinking these things, it was practically natural now.

A moment of silence passed between them as Sophie's shaking continued between Kate and the layers of blankets.

"I guess we're not studying tonight then?" Kate joked. 

She felt Sophie chuckle softly in reply. 

"I could always put on  _ Entrapment _ ," Kate continued, trying to make light of the situation by calling back to their conversation from a few weeks earlier. She expected Sophie to react to this, but instead, what came out surprised her.

"That's fine with me."

"Oh! Really?" Kate asked. Feeling Sophie nod, Kate realized she wasn't kidding. "Well, ok," Kate continued, trying to hide her surprise. She worried for a moment that Sophie's lack of reply was a sign of how unwell she was feeling, but she remembered Sophie had slapped her with sarcasm only a minute earlier. "Just let me…" she said, shifting from under Sophie to set up the movie.

"This really is a terrible movie," Kate commented once she hit play.

"Oh hush," Sophie replied from behind the blankets. " _ You _ defended Zorro."

"I defended  _ Catherine _ ."

Once confident the movie was running, she flipped off the lights and returned to the sofa, handing Sophie the cup of cocoa. This time they adjusted their position to better see the movie: Kate settled her back against the armrest and brought one leg around so Sophie was nestled between her legs. She felt Sophie lean back and relax into her as she brought her arms back around Sophie's torso. She noted Sophie's shaking hadn’t reduced much, and she made a note of the time as a way of tracking her progress.

Kate had never imagined the first time holding Sophie like this would be under such dire circumstances. She was nearly three months into the longest crush of her life, and had yet to find a way out of it. It didn't help that she was using any excuse to be around her, and rooming together was only making it worse. By the ninth week of term, she had resigned herself to a life of standing at a distance watching her peers flirt endlessly with her.

But now that Sophie was here, for a moment everything felt right. She had imagined holding her like this on so many occasions she'd actually lost count. After a few minutes, Kate felt the amount of shaking reduce, and she wondered if Sophie had fallen asleep when she spoke over Sean Connery’s dapper Scottish accent.

"Hey Kate?"

"Yea?"

"Thanks for taking care of me."

"I needed a break from all that math anyway," Kate replied, gesturing over at the open textbook and papers. "Your near death experience is actually doing  _ me  _ the favor."

Sophie half-chuckled at this. "You know you can just accept a 'thank you,' right?" she asked, adjusting herself slightly against Kate to get more comfortable.

"Hmm."

Kate knew she wasn't great at taking praise or compliments, and Sophie was always the first to call her out for side-stepping them with a joke. In fact, Sophie was usually the first to call her out for most the stuff she tried to pull. At first it drove Kate crazy - that Sophie could so easily see through Kate's facade, but over time, Kate grew to appreciate how direct and astute she was. It made her feel seen, even if it also meant being unmasked.

Twenty minutes into the movie, Kate felt Sophie's breathing fall into a constant rhythm, and Kate considered waking her so she could move to her bed, but she also considered that her body temperature may not be normalized for a while longer. As she reasoned with herself, she felt Sophie stir; her hand moved up and rested softly on Kate's upper arm. Simultaneously, Sophie's head turned and nestled into Kate's chest before letting out a small sigh. The impact this had on Kate sent her mind reeling. Did Sophie know what she was doing? She shook the thought from her mind: Sophie was passed out and would have no recollection of her actions. It didn't do well to cling to these things because it would inevitably mean disappointment for Kate. Three months of evidence had driven that point home.

As the movie credits rolled, Kate knew she should wake Sophie, but that last 108 minutes of bliss were persuading her otherwise. She could tell from Sophie's lack of shaking and consistent breathing that she'd be ok alone, but, even with all of that in mind, she justified that a few extra minutes couldn't hurt. She stared at the digital clock on her desk: 10:49.  _ Ten more minutes, _ she thought, closing her eyes for a moment,  _ then I'll wake her up. _

* * *

Sophie stirred from her sleep, feeling the morning rays of light against her eyelids. She slowly opened them, a wave of confusion rushing through her as she absorbed her surroundings. It was her dorm room, but she was on the couch?

Suddenly the night prior came flooding back: getting trapped in the mud pit, coming back to the dormitory soaking wet and freezing, the electric blanket, the hot chocolate,  _ Kate _ . It was then she felt the soft, rhythmic breathing next to her and Kate's arm draped over her waist, tying the warm comfort of Kate's body to her.

A smile crept over her lips as she remembered Kate’s intensity and care. For all of Kate’s efforts, Sophie felt much better - sore, but no longer bone-chilling cold. She wondered how much of the soreness was an effect of being pinned into the metal tube by a fallen post or from sleeping on the couch.

Her mind wandered back to Kate sleeping next to her. It could be seen as a completely harmless and platonic event if not for the suppressed feelings Sophie was harboring. She knew she should get up, that she should interrupt the moment and these feelings. She wasn't supposed to feel this way about a girl. Maybe for Kate it was fine, but Sophie wasn’t raised in a world where that was acceptable. Instead, Sophie had spent the better part of her life wondering how to hide the growing feeling of doubt about her attraction to guys and her often lingering thoughts toward women. Kate was her greatest and most persistent offence, and this was just one more wrong to add to that category.

Kate stirred and Sophie froze, weighing her mixed emotions: part of her hoped Kate would wake and put a stop to the whole thing for her. She knew Kate was especially wary of giving the wrong impressions to Sophie, and she used that as a crutch to never let her thoughts wander too far. The other part of her wanted Kate to stay asleep a while longer.

Fortunately for her, the second part won out: she stirred just enough to press closer to Sophie, her draped arm shifting slightly to wrap more directly around Sophie's stomach before letting out a soft sigh.


	7. Communication 101

“Shhhh!” Kate said through a laugh. “If you keep shouting someone’s definitely going to hear us, Sophie.”

Sophie was tipsy and laughing at a joke she’d already forgotten. They were on their way back from Wilfred Hall where the second years had hosted an end-of-semester party. Exams were over, and it was the first time Sophie had agreed to Kate’s invitation to go out. She had never been to a party before and could count on one hand the number of times she’d had alcohol, but she knew Kate would be there and that brought some comfort to her.

They hadn’t been there long before splitting off to different areas of the floor. Sophie found herself in a dorm room talking to Henry and Melvin about final exams and winter break plans. She hadn’t quite realized how quickly she was sipping her beer until she looked down and saw her cup was empty. 

“Time for number three,” Melvin chuckled, replacing her empty cup with a full one. “Man, Sophie, had I known you could pound them this quickly, we’d have made you come out earlier in the semester.” 

“Come out?” Sophie asked, taking the phrase out of context.

She saw Henry’s face break into laughter, “So maybe you can’t pound them this quickly. Let’s get you some water.”

* * *

Kate had made her usual rounds, jumping between rooms to say her goodbyes to people before break, and she was looking for Sophie who had split off shortly after they arrived. She hoped the guys were keeping an eye on her like they’d promised, but she had her doubts. 

Finally she found them on the other end of the dormitory, and her anger swelled when she realized the shouts of ‘chug’ that had been resonating down the hall were them pressing Sophie on to finish her drink. 

“What the fuck, Melvin? I asked you to watch out for her, not get her shit-faced,” she cut in, pulling Melvin’s arm as Sophie crushed the rest of her drink. 

“How many is that?” Kate asked, her serious tone cutting through Henry’s laugh.

“Kate, I’m fine,” Sophie interjected, but Kate ignored her, focusing her anger on Melvin.

“Wha? Oh come on Kate, we’re just having some fun. Besides, Sophie needs to let off some steam after a semester of all that cooped up tension,” Melvin winked at Kate. 

Kate glowered at him suspiciously. “You’re an ass. I told you she doesn’t drink so that this _wouldn’t_ happen.”

“Relax Kate, it’s just water. We stopped her at two,” Melvin said, sobering at the unwavering seriousness on Kate’s face.

“Yea, we wouldn’t let anything happen to your girlfriend, Kate,” Henry laughed through his own cup of beer. 

Silence fell over the group as Kate glanced around to see whether anyone in the room had heard Henry’s comment. 

“Dude,” Melvin whispered to Henry, “not cool.”

Melvin knew the danger a comment like Henry’s could have in a room of strangers on campus, and while he joked with Kate about it, she trusted him to have tact when discussing it. Henry, on the other hand, was a loose cannon.

“But also, I’m not... we're not,” Sophie said defensively.

“We know, Sophie. Henry was just messing,” Melvin remarked. “Henry is also drunk, so I’ll be taking him back to the dorms now. Right Henry?” he added with an underlying threat that meant it was nonnegotiable.

“Thanks, Melvin. And sorry for-”

“No apology necessary,” Melvin cut in, giving Kate a quick nod before grabbing Henry’s arm with one hand taking his beer from him with the other. “Have a good break - see you all next semester.”

Kate stared at them go, still fuming with anger, but not because Melvin hadn’t watched out for Sophie. She was frustrated with herself for not trusting Melvin who, over the last few weeks had shown a resounding amount of loyalty and friendship. He had confronted her about Sophie, and after a few minutes of question dodging, she admitted her feelings to him. She was worried he’d take advantage of that information, but instead he was nothing if not supportive. Sure, there was the occasionally well-placed joke, but he kept them infrequent enough that it didn’t bother her. Instead, her anger was over the ill-timed comment and the effect something like that could have in a room of strangers.

* * *

Sophie had convinced Kate to stay for one more drink after appealing to her sentimental side: this was their last night to hang out for a whole month. Kate had tried to point out they would be sharing a car ride for eight hours the following day with Sophie’s parents on their return trip to Gotham, but she waved that off, declaring it wasn’t the same thing.

She was pleasantly buzzed as Kate navigated their way back to the dormitory, and she started understanding the appeal of partying on Fridays: after weeks of nothing but studying, letting off some steam was exactly what she needed.

After a less than graceful attempt to unlock the door, Sophie surrendered the task to Kate who swayed a little less than her. Kate made quick work of the door and finally they were back. Sophie collapsed onto her bed with a satisfied grin on her face. She had survived her first semester and, as reward, would spend the next four weeks relaxing back home. 

“I’m gonna miss you, Kate Kane,” she muttered, realizing that the one person she had seen every day for over the last three months would be away from her.

“You’ll be just fine,” Kate said from the other side of the room. She had extracted the same bottle of Lagavulin from earlier in the semester and was in the middle of pouring a glass. “Besides, think about all the privacy you’ll have back at home,” she grinned.

Sophie rolled her eyes. Kate was alluding to an argument they’d had earlier that week when Sophie had nearly kicked Kate out of the room: it was well past midnight and she had just finished up some studying and was getting ready for bed, but Kate was still wide-awake. Instead of sleeping, Kate had turned on the t.v. and the volume paired with Kate’s laughing at whatever show was on had sent Sophie in a mood, and that mood stirred up an argument. In hindsight she knew the stress of studying had gotten to her, and she was being unreasonable, but in the moment, she accused Kate of being “a controlling, selfish, spoiled brat who didn’t know the first thing about being considerate”. Fortunately for Sophie, Kate let the remarks pass like nothing. Instead, she offered to leave and crash at Melvin’s for the night if that’s what she really wanted. The ultimatum deflated Sophie’s anger, and by the next morning the fight was behind them.

“That was a moment of weakness,” Sophie countered, apologetically. She sat up and watched Kate take a seat on the couch. She stretched her long legs out and lean her head back, staring at the dimly lit ceiling. It was in that moment Sophie realized they hadn’t turned on the overhead lights. Instead, the room was lit only from the street lights outside. She found the atmosphere calming.

She slid off her bed and moved next to Kate on the couch. Eyeing the glass in Kate’s hand, she casually took it from Kate’s hand and brought it to her lips, taking in the smokey smell and flavor. The taste didn’t feel as stark as she remembered and couldn’t decide if it was because she was already tipsy or she was beginning to enjoy it.

“Do you ever get tired of it?” she asked.

“I’ll need some more context to answer that one,” Kate responded, a smile playing across her face. It wasn’t uncommon for Sophie to ask something mid-thought, seemingly out of nowhere.

“Oh, right, sorry,” Sophie said, dismissing Kate’s glance. “I mean about tonight; what Henry said. Do you ever get tired of lying?”

“I’m not lying,” Kate replied. “I don’t go around saying I’m straight to people.”

“Ok, sure, but you’re living in fear of being found out.”

“Why would you say that?” Kate asked, turning to look at Sophie.

“Wh- because of how you reacted to Henry’s comment,” Sophie said, not understanding why Kate was deflecting. “It was the most on guard I’ve ever seen you.”

“I’m not afraid of being found out, Sophie.”

“Were we not at the same party? I saw you and Melvin both react.”

“And I’m telling you I’m not afraid of someone finding out about me,” Kate repeated, her voice raising slightly.

“Ok, then what am I missing,” Sophie asked, “Because you looked afraid Kate. And you can be a tough guy about it now, but that doesn’t change the fact that if the wrong person found out you’d face expulsion, and I think that has you worried,” Sophie reasoned.

Kate sat up at this, her face difficult to read in the moonlight. They both sat quietly for a minute, and Sophie began worrying she had overstepped. Until now, there wasn’t anything they couldn’t talk through, but this felt different. This challenged the carefree lifestyle Kate seemed to be living, and Sophie wondered if she’d have been better off biting her own tongue.

“Sophie, I’m not worried about being kicked out of school. If they want to expel me for this archaic belief, then let them.”

“Ok… but that still doesn’t answ-”

“Henry’s comment wasn’t just about me, Sophie. It included you, too.”

Sophie fell silent, stunned by Kate’s words. A moment passed as they resonated through the room. Kate wasn’t worried about herself, she was worried about how Sophie might be impacted. It was both the most flattering and careless thing she had ever heard someone say. For a moment Sophie had questioned Kate’s integrity, and instead of being made right, she realized Kate’s integrity was unwavering. She felt a hint of shame at what she’d just accused Kate, but more than that, she suddenly felt a strange new resolve about her feelings for Kate. 

“It’s one thing to be me and take on that risk for myself, but you didn’t ask for this, and the way these clowns run this place, you wouldn’t be given a fair shake if the wrong thing was insinua-” 

Kate was cut off mid sentence, surprised by the sudden warmth of Sophie’s lips on hers. Sophie’s brain had been spinning with emotions when the one thought that made any sense crossed her mind: she needed to kiss Kate. Her reaction was instantaneous as she leaned in and pressed her lips against Kate’s lips feeling a combination of shock and thrill pulse through her as she felt Kate's shock melt away and eagerly return the kiss. 

Sophie felt her hands react on their own, finding Kate's body in the dark. The heat between them was electric as they both fumbled on the edge of the couch, releasing a semester’s worth of bottled up feelings, working every angle to get closer. Finally frustrated by it, Kate pushed Sophie down onto the couch and climbed on top of her, letting her lips find Sophie’s again in the dark. She supported herself with one hand while the other slid down and under Sophie’s shirt. A soft moan from Sophie only encouraged Kate on. She let her mouth trail along the soft skin of Sophie’s jawbone while Sophie’s hands wandered Kate’s body, landing on the hem of her shirt and sliding it up to-

“Kate?”

They both froze, looking up and, petrified, realized the room was being lit by a second source of light. It was the hallway light, flooding through their open door.

“Kate, are you… woa.” Kate’s eyes widened in fear as she made eye contact with Mike Miller standing in the doorway. “Your… your door was open and… you’re... Sophie?”

“Mike, I can explain,” Kate said, jumping off Sophie and walking toward Mike like he was a cornered animal ready to strike.

“I… I have to go,” Mike said, backing out of the room and out of sight.

Kate’s stomach plummeted as she cursed aloud - she hadn’t shut the door. In the matter of a minute, she had gone from the happiest person in the world to the most terrified. Mike was one of the few who didn’t know about Kate, and that made what he saw just now even worse: Kate couldn’t know if he was running off to tell someone what he saw or not, and that meant Sophie ran the same risk as her.

“Kate… what... oh... shit… Kate… what… what are we...”

Kate turned and saw Sophie, her eyes wide with terror as she realized what was at stake.

“I’ll take care of it. Just… I’ll take care of it,” she said, leaving the room.

* * *

The next morning arrived, and with it came overcast, a headache, and a feeling of dread but no sign of Kate. Sophie had stayed up for another hour in fear before eventually passing out on the couch, and when she woke up and saw Kate still hadn’t returned, she wondered if messaging Melvin or Henry would bring any news. It was only when she went to grab her phone charger that she realized Kate’s travel bag, which had been sitting next to Sophie’s the night before, was missing. Instead, on top of Sophie’s bag was a note:

_ Hey Sophie, _

_ Change of plans - I’m going to spend the holidays with my dad in D.C. after all. Please tell your parents sorry for me. Have a good break. _

_ \- Kate. _

  
Sophie dropped the note onto her bag, a feeling of emptiness and confusion filling her.  _ What happened? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, 
> 
> Thanks for giving this a read. If you enjoyed it, I'm going to continue doing little one-offs like these in parallel with the main storyline from the 'Becoming Batwoman' series, so be on the look out for those!
> 
> Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, kudos-ed, or given it a passing read!
> 
> Cheers,  
> EQT.95


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